A Touch of the Divine
by oldcontinuity
Summary: A continuation of PAD's Supergirl series where Linda Danvers doesn't leave after Many Happy Returns. Linda must cope with what she has lost, strange new powers, and enemies old and new while teaming with heroes like Superman, Batman, and eventually Kara Zor-El. Rating may rise. Ch. 6-Linda visits the Kents, and a new threat appears in Leeasburg
1. Prologue-A Tale of Two Supergirls

_I was surprised to discover that there aren't any 'what if Peter David's Supergirl series had continued' fan-projects, at least as far as I could find. So I've decided to try to fill that niche. I felt that there was a lot of potential wasted by getting rid of Linda Danvers and her supporting cast when they did. This story is an AU of the post-crisis and pre-flashpoint DCU, which means that the Kara featured from 2004-2011 will also show up eventually._

* * *

Fred Danvers slumped in the seat outside of his wife's hospital room. He was a father...again. Both mother and child were doing well and were presently sleeping.

Fred wished he could sleep as well. Sylvia had gone into labor in the middle of the night, and the process of giving birth was stressful for the father as well as the mother. Fred may not have been as tired as Sylvia, but he was more exhausted than he had been since he recovered from a gunshot wound.

But exhausted as he was, Fred would know no sleep that night. Not when his first child, Linda, was missing.

Fred had left a note for his daughter at their house to let her know that he and Sylvia were at the hospital. Had she seen the letter Linda would have flown over right away.

Ordinarily Fred would not be so worried. Linda often disappeared to go stop a robbery or to save the world. And she always came back. What was the point in worrying about someone who laughed off bullets?

But Sylvia was convinced that Linda was in terrible danger. She had asked about her constantly while giving birth. And though he assured his wife that everything was fine, Fred could not help but share her concerns. At times Sylvia seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to Linda. If she thought their daughter was in trouble, then Frank could not dismiss it as paranoia or stress.

And so every time Fred closed his eyes to nod off, he saw images of Linda, bruised, bloodied, and broken.

Sometimes being the father of a superhero was harder than being the father of a delinquent.

"Mr. Danvers?"

Fred shot out of his seat. "Linda?"

But the young woman who stood in front of him was not his daughter. It had only been his drowsiness that made him think that it was.

"Kara? Thank goodness. Have you seen Linda?"

Kara was another super-powered youth Linda had brought to stay with them recently. She was wide-eyed, naive, and eager to help. However, now she could not look Fred in the eye.

Fred noticed that her eyes were puffy and she was sniffling. Kara had been crying very recently.

"What's wrong?" Fred took out several tissues and handed them to Kara. "Here, kid. Try to keep it down. People are trying to sleep."

To her credit and Fred's relief, Kara blew her nose quietly and without blowing a hole in the wall. Linda had done a good job in teaching the inexperienced hero-in-training how to control her powers.

But Fred's question still hung in the air. "Where is Linda?" he asked again.

Kara opened her mouth to speak, but instead began to sob. She turned away, holding herself tightly. Fred remembered how Linda had done the same thing when Sylvia was in the hospital for injuries she sustained in a car crash. "I just want a hug so bad." she had said then.

Hugs could wait. It was obvious that whatever was bothering Kara, it was connected to Linda, and Fred needed to know what it was.

"Where is my _daughter?"_ he repeated firmly.

Kara fought back a large sob and regained her voice. And in that moment, Fred Danver's world came crashing down around him.

"L-Linda's going to die!" she screamed. "And it's all my fault!"

* * *

Supergirl was literally swept off her feet.

Superman had embraced her in a passionate kiss. To her surprise, Supergirl kissed him back just as passionately.

A flood of feelings washed over her, feelings she hadn't felt since she was with Richard Malverne.

Dick...her first true love...Dick...dead of cancer partially because of her actions...Dick...the pain of whose death caused her fall into the hands of the Carnivore.

"No."

She pushed herself away from Superman, who floated there, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." she said sadly. "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I can't do this to you."

"I don't understand."

Supergirl almost laughed. Superman had assumed that she was an enemy from the start. She half-expected her vague explanations for rejecting him to cause him to reconsider whether he had not been right about her intentions all along. That he would not suggest it could only mean that he truly did trust her completely now.

How could she lie to him again? How could she deceive someone who trusted her so, who was willing to give her his heart? So much pain had been caused by her keeping secrets. And Superman was her only friend in this world.

"You wanted to know what my game was?"she asked sadly. "Why I came to this world?"

A single tear dripped from each of her eyes, running down her cheeks. Superman reached for her,but she pulled away again. She turned away from him, hugging herself.

"Clark, I-I came here to die."

* * *

Fred could only stare in shock as Kara recounted her story. The farther she got, the harder it became for her to keep going. He raised his hand to his forehead when Kara reached the part where Linda told her to fly back to Leesburg while she tried to work things out with the Spectre and the Fatalist. It was obvious to him what Linda would do next, far more obvious than it had been to a naïve girl like Kara.

"And when I was flying back, I heard her voice telling me to always find ways. That's when I realized she had decided to take my place. I went after the rocket. I tried to stop her. But I c-couldn't. I wasn't...wasn't fast enough."

She sat down, continuing to cry. "I thought being a hero was supposed to be fun. I thought I could be like Superman...and like Linda. But I was wrong. I'm not a hero. I just froze when it counted...while Linda...Linda didn't hesitate to sacrifice herself for me. I'm nothing next to her."

Fred wanted to scream. **"Damn right you're not! You're not one tenth of the hero she was! You're not fit to shine her boots! It should have been you and not my daughter!"**

But deep down Fred knew that that was the last thing Linda would have wanted him to do. She would have wanted him to comfort Kara.

But what words of comfort could he possibly find when he felt like his heart had been torn out of his chest and mutilated beyond all recognition?

Fred bit his lip, trying to restrain his rage. He sat down next to Kara. He did not put his arm around her. He could not temper his anger that much. But he was able to-with great difficulty, speak calmly.

"You're not." he agreed. "But neither was Linda, once upon a time."

That seemed to distract Kara. She stopped crying and looked up at him, confused.

"Linda used to be one of the most selfish people I've ever known. She only thought about herself, and she wouldn't lift a finger to help anybody. I was ashamed of her. She was really as unheroic as you could imagine.

"But then things changed. She gained her powers and became Supergirl. And suddenly she was like a completely different person. She started helping around the house. She argued less. And she became really concerned with helping people."

Kara was amazed. "I-I didn't know."

"Linda was ashamed of her past." Fred explained. "Who wouldn't be? The point I'm trying to make is, no one is born a hero, knowing exactly what to do. Not Supergirl. Not even Superman. All the heroes had to learn from their mentors, from their parents, from experience. Linda learned everything she needed to the hard way. You still have to learn these things if you want to be a hero like Linda."

Kara sniffed and looked at Fred hopefully. "I think I'm starting to understand. But I still don't want to die."

"No one _wants_ to die. Being afraid is ok. You have to be able to look past the fear."

Kara nodded. "Thank you."

Fred forced himself to smile a fake smile. "Just do me one favor, ok? Choose a name other than 'Supergirl.' I don't think Sylvia-"

Kara stopped paying attention and bolted down the hall.

"Hey!" Frank yelled after her. "Where are you going?"

He found Kara looking out of the nearest window with shock on her face.

"There you are. What's the problem...now."

Fred's voice failed him as he looked out of the window with Kara. Where there should have been a black night sky, there was instead a red haze spreading from the horizon over the town.

"I heard people screaming about the sky." Kara said. "I don't understand what's happening."

"I don't either." Fred said. "But there's one thing I do know. This is a job for a hero."

"Right."

There was a burst of wind, and Kara was gone. Fred shook his head and asked "Do they all do that?"

He looked out of the window again. The sky was turning a deeper shade of red.

Despite everything he had said, Fred couldn't help but think that he'd feel a not safer if it was Linda out there trying to save the world instead of Kara.

* * *

Surprisingly, the farther Supergirl got into her story, the easier it was to continue. She explained how she was from a different world, how the real Kara Zor-El had been plucked out of her own world and into Linda's world, how the Spectre explained that she had to go back to her own time and that her death would save the multiverse from destruction, and how Linda had taken her place rather than send Kara back to certain death.

Superman sat in silence the entire time. His eyes occasionally flashed with surprise or concern, but otherwise his face was as still as a statue.

Supergirl took a deep breath as she finished. "And that's why I can't do this. When my time comes, I can't put you through that pain."

"It won't happen." Superman said firmly. "I won't let it."

"Don't you see?" Supergirl insisted. "I've accepted my fate. I've made peace with it."

" _I_ haven't." Superman said. "And I refuse to accept it. You won't fight anymore-"

"Oh no you don't." Supergirl interrupted. "I'm not going to spend my remaining time sitting around while other people save the world. And besides, anything powerful enough to kill me is something even you are going to need help with.

"Please," Supergirl begged, "let this go. I know what it's like to lose the one you care about. I don't want you to go through that too."

"It's too late for that." Superman said. "I already care."

Superman stared at her with the most serious expression she had ever seen on his face. "I _will_ find a way to save you _and_ the world."

Supergirl didn't know whether to laugh or cry. For the first time since she arrived in this world she was having second thoughts about dying to save the universe.

"All right." Supergirl moved close to Superman and hugged him. "We'll find a way...together."

* * *

Linda and Kara were different people the next time they met. Neither felt any pride or satisfaction in defeating Xenon. Kara wasn't sure they had won at all.

"The sky's still red. I thought beating Xenon would make everything back to normal."

"Only you can do that." Linda said.

Kara looked from Linda to her rocket ship. "I still have to go back?"

"I tried. But it didn't work. We're too different for me to take your place."

"But _I'm_ different too! I don't want to die! Everything I do will be to not die!"

"Not if you don't remember that you were here."

They turned to see the Fatalist standing before them. Behind him was the Spectre.

"With Xenon defeated my mission is over. Should Kara Zor-El choose to return to her proper time her memories of this universe will be all but erased. They will be nothing more than a passing dream."

Kara looked at Linda. "I won't remember you."

"That's your main concern?" Linda asked. "Not dying?"

"You taught me what it means to be a hero. I won't remember anything I've learned."

Linda sighed. "Right now I feel like I don't know anything about being a hero either."

"Time is short." the Spectre said. "And free will cannot be denied. What is your decision?"

Kara looked at Linda, who nodded. "All right." she said. "I'll do it."

She hugged Linda tightly. When they pulled away she asked "Was I really worth giving up your own life for?"

Linda smiled. "Of course you are. Any hero would gladly give up his life for you."

Kara climbed into the rocket. Linda gave her a thumbs up and said "Go get 'im, slugger." Kara gave a thumbs up in return. "Maybe we'll meet again."

"Not in this universe." Linda said to herself.

The rocket blasted off into space. As the craft faded from view, the sky finally reverted to its normal color. Linda was alone with The Spectre and the Fatalist.

"After all that bullshit about free will," Linda said with venom in her voice, "we never had any choice at all, did we?"

"Free will isn't about finding the best solution." The Spectre said. "It is about choosing between right and wrong. You and Kara always had the freedom to make the wrong choice."

"Xenon said that I imprison him in the future. How do I have free will if I'm destined to fight him?"

"That future is not set in stone. No future is. If you so choose, you can avoid fighting him. There are many possible decisions you can make that would result in your never facing Xenon again."

"And what about our deal?"

"Your daughter lives. The child of Superman and Supergirl becomes a renowned hero in her own right."

"Thank you." The Spectre and The Fatalist faded from her plain of existence, and Linda was left all alone.

Linda did not remember flying back to Leesburg. Her thoughts were on all she had lost. Even if they still lived, she would never see her husband or her child again. And Kara's fate was sealed.

She found her home empty, the note left by her father lying on the couch where Kara had left it. So she knew to head over to the hospital.

When she walked into her mother's hospital room, Linda's father literally lept for joy. He pulled her into a hug so tight that she thought that if she didn't have her invulnerability he'd have cracked a few of her ribs.

"I thought...I thought..." he began.

Linda looked at her mother, who was holding her new baby brother. Sylvia's eyes were just as full of joy as Fred's were. She didn't need to jump and scream to express that joy.

"Welcome back, dear."

"Kara was here last night." Fred told her. "She said you-"

"I'm here, Dad." Linda assured him. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"How is she doing? She took your stunt pretty hard."

Linda closed her eyes and sighed. "She's gone."

Frank nodded, and Sylvia said "I'm sorry, Linda."

"Kara's gone." Linda repeated. "And I'm here."

Linda Danvers had lost her husband and her only child. She tried and failed to save a friend, one of many such failures in her superhero career. The pain and the guilt were now a permanent part of her existence.

But she still had a family that loved her and friends that needed. And her parents would require her help in taking care of hr baby brother Wally.

Leesburg still needed its resident hero, and the world still had many threats that only superheroes were up to facing.

And Supergirl would be there to face them.

* * *

 _Author's note: I was fine with Linda punching Kara and putting her back into the rocket, but since my story requires Linda to stay, certain changes had to be made. And I was disappointed that Kara never had the chance to show that she had learned anything. Hence her talking to Fred Danvers instead of just moping around an empty house._


	2. The Secret is Out

The sign outside of the Elanor Jewels shop called it the oldest store in Leesburg, which was true if one did not count establishments that had changed premises or built entirely new buildings in the century since the establishment of the town. It was always a small store, and had never been particularly profitable until very recently. It had been sold to new owners twice in its long history, the second sale saving it from closing permanently. It was after that sale that its name was changed to Elanor Jewels.

The jewelry store's fortunes began to change when Supergirl first arrived in Leesburg. Suddenly the middle American town became a tourist destination, and Elanor Jewels began to see clientele of a higher economic strata. In addition, an entirely new market of Supergirl memorabilia was created, and Elanor Jewels was quick to cash in on the higher end of the market with watches, necklaces, and other types of jewelry featuring the famous 'S' symbol. For the past year and a half Elanor Jewels was the most profitable small shop in town by a large margin, and it was selling more expensive jewelry than ever.

Despite the profits and the quality of the jewelry, the local criminal element always left Elanor Jewels alone. Criminals they may have been, but no self-respecting Leesburgian would stick up a city landmark. Even petty thieves had local pride.

Unfortunately, out-of-town thieves had no such compunctions about robbing Elanor Jewels.

Three men, armed with hand guns and wearing ski-masks, had come to Leesburg to do just that. Their leader, Earl, was a big man who had the brilliant idea of carrying out crimes in towns that used to have a superhero, but didn't anymore. Their first target was Elanor Jewels.

While his buddies forced the customers against the wall, Earl had the saleswoman fill a large cloth bag with jewelry.

"Not that junk, ya dumb broad!" Earl screamed at the poor, frightened woman. "Fill it with the good stuff, the expensive stuff!"

When he was satisfied with the merchandise that filled his bag, Earl turned to his buddies. "All right. Let's go."

Lenny, the youngest of the gang, was thrilled. "Easy as pie."

Earl grinned, but was not going to make any triumphant declarations before they made their getaway. "We got to move before-"

"Before the cops show up?"

The three crooks looked at the doorway, where a blonde girl stood. She wore red boots, a short blue skirt, midriff bearing t-shirt with a red and yellow 'S' symbol on it, and a short red cape.

"Supergirl?" Lenny screamed. "You said she was dead!"

"She is." Kenny said, pointing his gun at her. "This is just some cheap cosplayer."

The blonde girl shook her head. "And now we're doing this."

Earl fired a single gunshot, prompting his buddies to do the same.

"Uhhh..." Lenny asked. "Did we miss?"

Supergirl still stood exactly where she had been standing the whole time, looking slightly annoyed.

"How could we miss?" Earl complained. "It's not like we hit the window."

Supergirl held out her right hand and opened it. Three crushed pieces of metal fell to the floor.

"I-I don't think she's cosplaying." Lenny stammered.

"I'd like to avoid any collateral damage," Supergirl said, "so it would be better for all of us if you just surrendered. If not (she held up a clenched fist and glared) it'll go really bad for you."

All three guns fell to the floor.

* * *

'Fighting crooks with guns used to be fun.' Supergirl thought as she flew over Leesburg. 'It's so easy to pull pranks on them, tease them. I was never so angry at simple robbers before.'

'Was I pissed because they went after 'the oldest store in Leesburg?' she wondered. 'If I was I think I'd have said something about it when I got there.'

She landed in an alleyway. 'I was so annoyed at seeing that robbery.' Linda Danvers emerged from the alley, with short brown hair, and dressed in long jeans and a blue sweater. She entered a nearby apartment building. 'Do I just think anything not super-villain related is beneath me?'

Linda knocked on the door of one of the apartments. Mattie Harcourt opened the door.

"You're late."

"Sorry." Linda said. "It seems there's been a lot more petty crime lately."

"What did you expect?" Cutter Sharp asked from the couch. "The whole world thinks our resident superhero died. Of course crooks were gonna try to take advantage of the situation."

"I guess. I remember the same thing happening in Metropolis after..." 'Damn.' she thought, remembering her husband.

"I thought Comet and Blithe would take care of crime while I was away." she said, trying to steer the conversation away from anything related to Superman.

"Only times we've seen them are when super-villains show up. Most people don't even know Blithe's name." Cutter explained.

'As Earth-Born Angels they may have more pressing things to worry about.' Linda thought. 'Or do they also find themselves not caring like I seem to?'

"Now, Linda honey," Mattie said, sitting down next to Cutter, "we've got some questions and think you owe us some answers."

Linda sat down on a reclining chair across from the couch. "Shoot."

"Where to start?" Mattie wondered. "All we know is that you're Supergirl."

"I guess the main question is how." Cutter said.

"How." Linda sighed. "That's the $64,000 question."

"You don't know how?" Cutter asked.

"I know. I just don't know how to say it."

"We get that Supergirl transferred her power to you." Mattie said.

"It was more than that." Linda responded. "She sacrificed herself to save me."

Mattie and Cutter stared at her.

"What?" she asked. "That's not even the weird part."

Mattie held her hand up as if to tell Linda to stop. "Hold up. You're saying that that psychic-whatever it was we all got that Supergirl was killed in a big battle was to save _you?"_

"No. No." Linda threw her hands up in frustration. "It had nothing to do with that. God, I knew this would be impossible."

"Wait a second." Cutter said, leaning forward. "I think Linda's trying to say that she was Supergirl before the previous one disappeared."

"Come on Cutter." Mattie insisted. "There's no way she could have been the old Supergirl. She's not even the right body type!"

"Not this again." Linda moaned, putting her palm to her forehead. "If I hear one word about my not being as 'busty' as the 'other' Supergirl I'm leaving through the window."

"I'm sorry, Linda." Mattie said. "For Cutter this is just cool. But with all the craziness that's been going on in this town I leaned on you, Linda Danvers, as the one thing in my life that I knew was normal. To find that you're not, it's like finding out Santa Claus isn't real, or that my parents are getting divorced."

"Why d'you think I didn't tell you? I was terrified what it would do to my relationships with my friends and family. My parents freaked when I told them. That's why my Mom got drunk and crashed her car."

Mattie covered her mouth. "You were...even then? I knew you and your dad weren't speaking..."

"A lot of people wondered why Supergirl stayed in Leesburg in the first place." Linda finally allowed herself a hint of a smile. "Even other superheroes."

"That means," Cutter said, "that this 'sacrifice' you spoke of must have happened when Supergirl rescued you from those cultists."

Linda nodded. "They were trying to sacrifice me to summon this demon cat thing. Supergirl got there in time to stop the spell,but not in time to save me. I was seconds away from dying. And she freaked. She was always dwelling on the people she failed to save, and I was the final straw. Out of instinct she merged her protoplasm body with mine. She melted out of her costume and into me. And then...and then I was Supergirl."

Mattie shivered. "Sounds like 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' to me."

"I was afraid that that's what it was for a while. I-we-weren't sure whether Supergirl had saved me or stolen my life."

"You were suffering from amnesia, as I recall." Cutter said.

"Yeah. I had two sets of memories now, and it was hell to work through them. I was remembering bits of both my life and Supergirl's life bits at a time. It was like two months before I had everything straight. Still didn't know if I was real until Silver Banshee attacked."

"And you're sure you were 'real?" Cutter asked.

"It's complicated, but yeah. My personality and Supergirl's merged. We-I-were both at once. Neither was more real or alive than the other."

Mattie wasn't convinced. "So how come you and Supergirl looked so different? No wig is going to make you six inched taller."

"The protoplasm Supergirl was made of allowed her to change shape. With that protoplasm in my body I could switch between being Linda and Supergirl easily."

"That explains your disappearing acts." Cutter observed. "And when Linda disappeared for long periods at a time what happened?"

"Sometimes I had to do missions for the Justice League."

"Is that where you were when Dick was dying?" Mattie asked.

Linda grimaced and had to put her hands together and crack her knuckles to avoid breaking the chair she was sitting on.

"Sorry. I know that was a low blow. But that's when we needed you the most."

"I-I know. I wish I could have been here. If I could change anything that's what it'd be. I was stuck in another dimension fighting an army."

"For three weeks?" Mattie asked.

Linda nodded. "I barely got out alive. Never had a chance."

"So why the change?" Cutter asked. "Why go from changing shape to putting on a wig and wearing a cheaper costume?"

"We split." Linda said. "That big battle where everyone sensed my 'death.' I sacrificed myself to restore balance, but instead of dying we were split apart again. Somehow I kept much of my powers. I found out that the part of me that had been Supergirl from before everything was being held captive somewhere, and I went to rescue her. I hoped we could merge again."

"But you didn't?" Cutter asked.

"No. She wanted to, but I decided not to in the end. Someone else was dying and the only way to save her was for the old Supergirl to merge with her instead."

"But you're you again." Maddie said. "Isn't that better?"

Linda paused. "Now if I do good I know it's coming from me and not only from Supergirl's personality. But I feel like I'm missing part of myself. The only time I've ever felt whole was when we were merged."

"And is that other Supergirl we saw at the school the new merged person?" Cutter asked.

"No." Linda said, emotion draining from her voice. "That was a Supergirl from a different universe where more people from Superman's species survived. Some cosmic accident caused her to wind up in our world. But now she's gone back to where she belongs."

"You ok, Linda?" Mattie asked. "You sounded kind of dead when you were saying that."

"I'm fine." Linda lied. "Some things I'd still rather not talk about."

"So what happened to the merged Supergirl?" Cutter asked.

"She decided that I should keep the Supergirl name. She's concentrating on the kind of threats that caused us to split apart and leaving the rest to me."

Cutter stroked his chin. "So you're really the official Supergirl now? You've got the blessing of the 'old' Supergirl? And the other superheroes know?"

"They don't know as much as you do now. But Superman vouched for me, so they accept me too."

"D'you really know Superman?" Mattie asked.

"Yeah. I knew-know Superman." Linda almost muttered a curse at her slip-up. "We're...friends."

"All right!" Cutter exclaimed, hitting his left palm with his right fist. "If you've really got Superman's blessing then it'll work!"

Mattie and Linda stared at him. "What'll work?" they both asked.

"We can reopen Supergirl Enterprises!"

"Your old PR firm?" Linda asked incredulously.

"Exactly! We can start up where we left off! I've been working minimum wage since you 'died.' Didn't seem right to keep making money off you. But if Mattie'n I are gonna get married I'm gonna have to pull my weight."

"I'm sorry," Linda said, "but how could that work? I can't just go on television and say 'hey, I'm half of the Supergirl you're familiar with.'"

"It's simple! You just get Superman to talk to the mayor, and then he'll endorse you for sure! Between Superman's word and the mayor's endorsement you'd be covered. Sure there'll be questions, but we can deal those when the time comes. It'll be like you never left."

Linda stood up and walked to the window. "Except I did leave." she said sadly. "He'd do it if I asked. I just don't know if it's what I want."

"Look, Linda," Mattie said, putting her hand on Linda's shoulder, "it sounded crazy to me to. It sounded crazy back when Cutter first proposed it after the press called you a racist, but it worked.

"And you've only been back a short time, but you've seen how things have gotten worse. Crime's up. Tourism's down. People are less...happy, optimistic, whatever you want to call it, since Leesburg lost its Supergirl."

Mattie made Linda turn around so she could put both of her hands on Linda's shoulders and look her in the eye.

"You can change that. You've got the powers. You've got the experience. All you need is the PR and you can bring that hope back."

Linda looked down. "Ok. I'll get in touch with Superman. But you'd better be on your best behavior." she warned Cutter.

"Hey," Cutter laughed, "I'm an angel!"

Linda tried to turn her grimace into a grin. She didn't think that she'd succeeded, but Cutter got up to shake her hand regardless.

"You won't regret this."

"Yeah. Sure." Linda headed towards the door.

"Aren't you going to use the window?" Mattie asked. "Since you don't have to hide it from us anymore?"

"All I need is one person walking below to see and my secret identity is blown." Linda said without turning to them.

"Oh. Guess I never thought of that."

"Actually..." Linda said, this time turning her head to look at them. "There was something I wanted to ask you. Do I...look different to you?"

Mattie scratched her head. "It's gonna be pretty hard to look at you the same way again, so I'd say so."

"Thank you." Linda left.

Mattie turned to Cutter. "Since when is Linda so depressed?"

"Supergirl was getting more depressed and angry right before she 'died.'" Cutter replied. "Broke my office wall in a fit. Guess she hasn't gotten over it yet."

* * *

Linda walked home. It gave her more time to think than flying would have.

She didn't want to talk to Superman so soon after coming back from the other time-line. But that was far from her only concern.

Linda had been worried about having to explain to her friends and family what she had been doing in the years she had been away. She had no idea how she would explain to her parents that they were grandparents who would never meet their son-in-law or granddaughter.

But to Linda's surprise, her parents had not asked why she suddenly looked older, and now neither did her friends. Somehow Linda had not aged during the seven or eight years she spent in the other timeline.

And then there was everything that happened with Xenon.

It was just as well, she decided, that Cutter had asked her to get in touch with Superman when he did. As much as she dreaded it, she needed to talk to him for her own reasons.

When she got home, Linda went up to her room, laid down on her bed, and made a phone call.

"Clark? It's Linda...Yeah...Sorry I haven't called in a while...Things have been hectic since I got back to Leesburg...Listen, could you do me a couple of favors?...Thanks...Cutter Sharp thinks you should put in a good word for me with the mayor so people don't think I'm a fake...great..."

Linda then came to her second request. "Also...I want to get a checkup...like a physical...I want to understand the changes I've been going through, y'know...I thought of S.T.A.R. Labs, but the secret identity could be an issue...D'you know any capes with the know-how who you also trust?"

"Huh." Linda said as she hung up. "Looks like it's back to Gotham City."


	3. A Night in Gotham

_She hit him with everything had. He fell over, but all she had accomplished was to make him mad._

" _Of all the impertinence! How dare y-" he began._

" _ **You!"** he screamed as he got a good look at her. **"It's you!"**_

" _It usually is." she replied angrily. She tried to sound confident, but her best shot had barely fazed him._

" _ **You're** a Supergirl!? he roared in confusion, extending his arm towards her. "But it makes no sense!"_

 _She had no time to wonder what he was talking about. The beam of green energy that had burst from his hand slammed into stomach, knocking her back into the wall behind her. She groaned in pain. She hadn't taken a hit that hard since her battle with Lillith._

" _Wait! Of course!" her opponent exclaimed. "It makes perfect sense!"_

 _She still had no idea what he was talking about, but it gave her a few moments to recover, moments she desperately needed after his opening blow._

" _My two greatest enemies are one!" he declared, realizing a truth which had eluded him for millenia. "And...I can sense it, girl! You have no idea how to access the powers you wield in the future!"_

 _Her legs were only just starting to cooperate with her as he lunged at her fists first. At full speed she might have had a chance of dodging the attack, but she could hardly stand, let alone accelerate._

 _Whatever truth he had realized, it would cease to matter the moment his fists struck her face._

" **AHHHHH!"**

Linda shot out of her bed and out of her bedroom window. Her impact with the ground two stories below woke her up completely.

She looked up at her house. She was safe. The battle with Xenon had been more than a week ago. He was dead.

It had been a short battle from which she had emerged surprisingly unscathed compared to other battles she had fought previously.

And yet she relived it every night. The same near-death experience. The same monster haunting her nightmares.

Linda flew up to her parent's window. They awoke the moment little Wally would start to cry. But they managed to sleep through her scream. Seeing that she hadn't disturbed her family, Linda flew off.

They say dreams are the mind's way of sorting through information it could not process during the day. There had been no time to take in everything Xenon had said while the battle was going on, but when she slept there was all the time in the world.

Linda landed in a rock quarry about ten miles outside of Leesburg. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she finally realized at least part of the truth Xenon had discovered.

"No..."

She knelt down on the ground.

"No!"

She raised her arm and punched the rock. The ground shook as bits of stone flew all around.

" **No!"** She punched the ground again.

Xenon recognized her as Linda and had only realized that she was also Supergirl afterwards. They were his "two greatest enemies."

" **NO!"**

The air was full of flying debris as Linda continued to pound the ground.

She had already figured out that she would eventually have to face Xenon again. It was a frightening prospect, but the truth of what awaited was far worse, she realized now.

" **NOOOO!"**

Linda would not fight Xenon once more and be done with it. That monster, who almost destroyed all of reality, who had the power to destroy Kryptonians with ease, who was obsessed with killing her...

"no..."

Her voice broke and she knelt in the middle of the small crater she had created out of the rock.

She would face Xenon again...and again...and again...

* * *

When Linda came down the stairs later in the morning Sylvia was feeding Wally an Fred was getting ready to leave for work.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Fred said jokingly.

"Soooorrrrry." Linda yawned. She had had bay-sitting duties that morning. "Didn't sleep very well."

'That's all right, dear." Sylvia said. "We thought we'd better let you sleep this morning anyway."

Linda sat down at the kitchen table and poured herself a bowl of cereal. "What do I need to be fully awake for?"

"News said there was an earthquake not to far from here last night." Fred said.

Linda gulped down her next bite. "Wha?"

"And since we don't have a fault line around here it might be supervillain-related."

'Oops.' Linda thought. It had been a while since she had last accidentally caused an earthquake. The only other times had been her battle with Lillith and the first night of her marriage to the other world's Superman.

"I'll look into it." she assured her parents, concentrating on her cereal bowl so they wouldn't notice how her face was turning red. "Probably too late to do anything, though."

When she had halfway finished her cereal Fred started to go out the front door. "Speaking of superhero business," she said, prompting him to poke his head back inside, "I'm not gonna be home for dinner tonight. I've got a case to take care of up north."

"Thanks for telling us beforehand for once." Fred said.

"Are you going to Metropolis?" Sylvia asked.

"Actually, I'm going to Gotham."

Fred and Sylvia exchanged shocked looks.

"Yup." Linda confirmed as she took another spoonful of cereal, "him."

* * *

Like most of the superhero community, Supergirl did not know what to think about the Batman. Those who did not work with him often regarded him with apprehension. Relatively little was known about the vigilante from Gotham. Most of the world considered him to be nothing more than an urban myth.

The rumors that swirled around the myth were frightening. The stories about his brutal methods and questionable mental state were too numerous to be discounted.

But Nightwing and Robin, two proteges of Batman, were both normal and had lead their own teams of superheroes at various points.

And Clark considered Batman to be a personal friend.

It was Clark's opinion that convinced Supergirl that she could trust Batman with her secrets.

The flight to Gotham City was long, and she did not fly at her full speed. She hated Gotham. Everything about it, from the atmosphere, to the crime, to the gothic architecture, reminded her of her old life before she had merged with Matrix.

Supergirl landed on top of the designated building, police headquarters. The roof was deserted.

"Why am I not surprised?" she whispered to herself. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the floodlight stationed in the center of the roof. Cutter Sharp had taken inspiration from this 'bat-signal' when he had tried to contact her about his idea to start Supergirl Enterprises.

But she had not traveled all the way to Gotham to inspect the bat-signal. "Come on out." she said loudly.

Two figures suddenly appeared, seemingly melting out of the shadows. The larger one towered over her, his black cape reminding her of the Spectre's flowing cloak.

"Supergirl." he said simply, but in that deep, commanding voice of his that made trained warriors shudder.

A smaller figure rushed past him and grabbed Supergirl' arm. "Hi. It's great to meet you! I'm a big fan!"

Supergirl couldn't help but smile as the younger girl enthusiastically shook her hand. She had met Robin before, but this one was different. Robin was now a blonde teenage girl.

"Good to meet you too." Supergirl responded. "But maybe we should get going."

"Right."

Batman jumped off of the roof, Robin quickly following suit, now as silent as her partner. Supergirl floated after them. Despite not having any superpowers, the two vigilantes used their capes to slow their descent at the last moment.

"Oh my god." Supergirl said to herself as she saw the car parked in the alleyway. She had seen the batmobile in the other timeline, but that had belonged to a Batman who operated in broad daylight and with a smile. But seeing this heavily ornate sports car, complete with bat-scallops, she couldn't help but wonder how he had kept his existence a secret for so many years.

Neither Batman nor Robin made a move to go into the car. Robin turned away and checked something on her utility belt while Batman took out a blindfold.

"Put this on." he ordered. "I'm sorry, but we have to take certain precautions."

Supergirl put up her hand. "That won't be necessary. I already know you're Bruce Wayne."

Robin stopped what she was doing. She spun around and looked at Batman to see how he react. He stood there silently for several seconds, his expression unchanging.

"Superman didn't tell me." she assured him. "I spent some time in another universe where you wanted other superheroes to know your secret identity. That's kind of why I'm here."

Batman glared at her, but put away the blindfold. Robin breathed a visible sigh of relief and hopped into the batmobile's front passenger seat. Supergirl took the back seat.

The ride was not long, but it was silent and awkward. Supergirl had expected to have to answer many questions, but Batman either did not believe her or was too angry to comment yet, and Robin had the sense to not say anything so as not to upset him further. At least it only took a few minutes until they arrived at the batcave.

If Supergirl had found the batmobile ridiculous, that was nothing compared o what she thought of the cave. True, it was definitely darker and gloomier than the one she had seen in the other timeline, but that just made the giant penny and model T-Rex seem even more silly.

Batman told Robin to run through a training program. As she started the program Supergirl told Batman what she wanted him to analyze and handed him a folder filled with photographs. Batman had her lie down in a scanning device while he analyzed the pictures at his giant supercomputer.

The scanning only lasted a minute, at which point she went back to Batman. "Found anything yet?" she asked.

"The scans will take a few more minutes to analyze, but the system has finished its analysis of the photographs."

"And?"

"And they show that after you merged with the previous Supergirl, the being you call Matrix, your aging slowed to about one third the rate of a normal human. There are fewer photographs from the period after you split, but from what there is to go on your aging has stayed consistent since then."

"So no one noticed I was suddenly older because I only aged a third of the time I was gone?"

"No. If your story is true, then you should have aged about two years before returning to this universe. If such aging had occurred the computer would have detected it. But you have still aged less than a year since you originally became Supergirl."

"But why?" Supergirl demanded. "I lived a very normal life while I was there. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until the very end, and that couldn't cause me to have stopped aging six years earlier."

A light flashed elsewhere on the computer. "There might be your answer. The analysis of your form is complete." He pulled up the results on the monitor, a collection of charts, graphs, and pictures.

Batman rubbed his chin. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"I have Lexcorp's data on Matrix and her protoplasm, the same protoplasm that gave you your powers."

"I probably don't want to know why you have Lexcorp's information on Supergirl, do I?" she asked, frowning.

"Based on that data, I had assumed that your body still contained a high percentage of that protoplasm."

"Most of it washed away when we merged. My body was always mostly mine."

"And when you split, most of the remaining protoplasm left your body as well."

"What?"

"According to these scans, your body currently contains only trace amounts of protoplasm. You are more than ninety-nine percent human, biologically speaking."

"What does that mean?" Supergirl asked.

"It means, Miss Danvers," Batman turned to face her, "that not only can I not explain why your aging did not return to normal after you split from Matrix, but I cannot even explain why you maintained any superpowers. With that amount of protoplasm you should not even be as strong or fast as an Olympic athlete, let alone be able to fly and laugh off bullets."

Supergirl let out a frustrated sigh. "So you can't explain what is happening to me."

"There is no scientific explanation."

"That's just great." she moaned.

Batman turned back to his computer. "Perhaps you could consult with Superboy about how he dealt with his situation."

"Maybe." Supergirl lied. Conner's main concern with not aging was that he would never grow up to be Superman himself, and he was the last person she would consider going to for advice about anything.

"Listen..."she said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Superman what we've discussed. He should hear it from me."

"He should." Batman agreed, not looking at her.

"I guess I'll head back to Leesburg." Supergirl turned to leave.

"Actually," Batman said, "I was hoping you could do _me_ a favor."

"What could I possibly do for you?" she asked.

"Helping you has cut into my time. I have things I need to take care of here. Robin is going on patrol, but she's still new at this and I'd rather she not go by herself yet."

Supergirl was surprised at the request,but before she could respond Robin made her thoughts known.

"That'd be great!" she said as she came back from her training course. "My first real team-up! It'll be fun!"

Supergirl scratched the back of her head with an exasperated smile. "Guess I can't say know to an invitation like that?"

* * *

'Patrol' for Robin meant swinging through the Gotham skyline with a grappling hook looking for signs of crime below. Supergirl flew slightly behind her.

"So what happened to the previous Robin?" Supergirl asked.

"He retired." Robin answered. She did an unnecessary mid-air somersault before landing on a nearby roof. She was clearly in heaven at that moment.

"Lucky him." Supergirl said.

Robin shot out her grappling hook again and jumped off of the roof. "Did you know him?"

"Not well. I met him a couple of times. Didn't get a chance to see that great brain everyone was always raving about."

"Now you've got me curious." Robin said. "What did he do that was so dumb."

"He tried to headbutt me."

"He what?"

"Yeah. Not the brightest move to pull on someone who's invulnerable."

"Why would he do that."

"It wasn't entirely his fault." Supergirl explained. "He was being mind controlled by a flying monkey."

" **What?"**

Robin had to land on the nearest roof to stop herself from falling. "A-a flying monkey?" she asked, holding her side.

Supergirl nodded and held her hands about a foot apart. "A real flying monkey, about this big."

"Oh...my...god..." Robin was nearly doubled over from laughter. "I am _never_ going to let him hear the end of this."

Even Supergirl cracked a mischievous grin. Being attacked by the entire Young Justice team had not been fun, and Dis freezing her angelic wings had crippled and nearly killed her, but when the situation was described the way she had described it, it _was_ really funny.

"Ok." Supergirl said. "Your boss isn't paying us to make jokes at his old partner's expense."

"You're getting paid?" Robin asked sarcastically as she fired her grappling hook again.

"It would be nice."

It was another few minutes before they came across a crime in progress. Two men were mugging an elderly couple.

The husband handed over his wallet,but that didn't satisfy the muggers. "Now her jewelry." one of them said, brandishing his handgun at the wife.

Trembling, the elderly woman removed her necklace as her husband took off his watch. The crooks held out there hands to take the jewelry when they heard a voice behind them.

"Y'know, I never understood why the people who need to steal to make a living can afford hand cannons.

The muggers spun around, but the first one was instantly taken out by a vicious right hook from Robin.

Supergirl hung back, watching the younger heroine in action. Robin was so full of energy, so alive.

'Was I like that?' she wondered. 'Did I ever take so much joy in stopping criminals, in the banter, the excitement?'

Robin tied up the thieves and took a moment to see if their victims required any medical attention before returning to the rooftops.

"You could have joined in." she told Supergirl. "It's not much of a team-up if only one of us does anything."

"You don't need my help to take out two guys." Supergirl explained. "Besides, I didn't want to spoil your fun."

Robin shook her head. "Ohh, if only you knew what a bad pun you just made. You're allowed to have fun too."

Supergirl sighed. "I guess I don't find it as fun as I used to."

"Why?"

Supergirl stopped. She looked at the city, then at Robin, then down at her feet.

"Because I'm afraid I'll be doing it forever." she said quietly.

"Is that why you're so concerned about not aging?"

Supergirl nodded. "Superman calls what we do 'the never-ending battle.' I've seen so many horrible things, things no mortal should ever see." She'd been sacrificed to a cat-god, faced the hell-holes of Apocalypse, fought a demon who had usurped God himself, faced the literal mother of all demons, and whatever Xenon was.

"The thought of facing those things again and again, it terrifies me more than dying."

"I never really pictured you super-types as being afraid of anything."

"If you aren't afraid it isn't bravery, just stupidity." Supergirl explained.

"I _am_ terrified." Robin insisted. "Every time I go out, I know that if I make one mistake I'll end up as a statistic."

"I know. I wasn't calling you stupid."

"But that doesn't make it any less fun." Robin went on. "I'm afraid, but I know I'm doing good. I know I'm helping people. I mean, cops and firefighters also help people. They've got to be scared too, but a lot of them still enjoy the job."

"That's true." Supergirl thought of her father. He had been shot on the job once, and had gone right back to work the moment he felt he had recovered enough.

"Does Superman get scared?" Robin asked.

"Of course he does. Even Batman gets scared."

For a moment they were both silent, until Robin spoke up again. "When your not scared, what do you do to make crime-fighting more fun?"

Supergirl thought for a second. "Sometimes I'd pretend that the bad guys actually hurt me just to see their reaction when I pop back up."

Robin smiled again. "That sounds like fun. Shame I can't do that, not being invulnerable and all."

"Having telekinetic powers can also be fun to mess around with."

"Now you're just trying to make me jealous."

Robin rolled up her glove to look at her watch. "I'd better get home. If my mother catches me oversleeping on a school day there'll be hell to pay."

"So you're not an orphan." Supergirl observed. "How'd you get mixed up with Batman?"

"That's a long story." Robin said as she began to swing away. "Come back sometime and maybe I'll tell you!"

Supergirl smiled as Robin swung out of sight. "Maybe I will."

"Looks like your little ploy to get me to open up worked." she said loudly. "Got what you wanted?"

The deep scary voice of Batman responded. "A telepathic flying monkey?"

"Well, it was a demonic telepathic flying monkey."

The response was silence. Supergirl flew ten feet in the air, then looked down.

"Y'know, I like this new Robin. Take good care of her."

The flight back to Leesburg seemed much shorter than the flight to Gotham had been. It helped that Supergirl was in a better mood, even though she hadn't gotten the answers she sought.

'How ironic,' she thought, 'that the first time I have a little fun since coming back to this world would be in one of the places I hate the most.'

Sometimes God really does work in mysterious ways.

* * *

 _Author's Note: I'm fudging the timeline here, as Stephanie Brown's stint as Robin took place later. For the most part things should move faster than they did in the actual continuity._

 _Next time-The first real supervillain attack._


	4. Party Crasher

When you spend so much time saving the world, it can be easy to forget how stressful more mundane activities could be. Or at least how stressful they could be for Mattie.

"This is hopeless." she groaned as she discarded another potential wedding gown. "Everything in this town is either boring or Supergirl related."

"Is that really so bad?" Sylvia asked. "Your husband-to-be is Supergirl's agent after all."

"Yeah. And I'm going to be seeing Supergirl everywhere. No offense, Linda."

"None taken." Linda said. "But if you really want a Supergirl-free wedding you might want to look for a different maid-of-honor."

"Just count yourself lucky I forgave you for blowing up my apartment."

"That was Satan Girl."

"Supergirl, Satan Girl. Who can keep track of all of you?"

Linda shook her head. Mattie was trying to treat Linda the same way she did before finding out her secret identity, but she still had some lingering anger and resentment at Linda's not being normal.

"Linda," Mattie asked, "any chance you can fly us out to some other city so we can find a better dress?"

"I can't fly that high or fast when holding a normal person. It would kill them."

"What's wrong with a conservative dress?" Sylvia asked. "A wedding is a spiritual event."

"And to be honest I doubt Cutter would care." Linda added. "Conservative would mesh better with the 'mature businessman' persona he's trying to put on."

"You're one to talk." Mattie teased. "Going out every day in that skimpy outfit."

"I'd wear something much less revealing at my wedding."

"Speaking of which," Sylvia said, "have you considered trying one of those new online dating sites? Mrs. Birche was telling me how her daughter found her fiancee on one."

"I'm not ready to date again, Mom." Linda quickly changed the subject. "Did you know that the men's store has bow ties with the symbols of a whole bunch of heroes. There's Green Lantern ties, Flash ties..."

Mattie shook her head. "This town has turned into a freaking comics convention." She wagged her finger at Linda. "This is all your fault. We used to be a nice little town-"

"With a serial killing satanic cult and a demon infestation." Linda finished.

"True." Mattie agreed.

"I still think it would be good for you to start dating again." Sylvia said. "You're not getting any younger."

"Mommmmm." Linda groaned. "You just had a baby yourself. And you're already set on being a grandmother?"

"I'm just thinking of you dear."

"Mrs. Danvers," Mattie said, "it hasn't been that long since Dick Malverne passed away, and Linda's been so busy since then she hasn't had time to really mourn. You can give her a little more time before you start playing matchmaker again."

"I suppose." Sylvia conceded. "But don't wait too long. It's not such a big town, after all."

"I'd better get going." Linda said suddenly. "Gotta get ready for that meeting with the mayor."

"Oh." Sylvia said. "Good luck then."

Linda hugged Mattie. "Sorry I couldn't be any more help."

"Don't worry about it." Mattie assured her. "I'll just order a dress from a catalog and get it fitted here."

"See ya." Linda said as she ran out.

"Something's really bothering her." Sylvia said.

"She is under a lot of stress." Mattie shrugged. "And like I said, she hasn't gotten over Dick yet."

"She's always under stress." Sylvia observed. "This is different. She hasn't been the same since Kara went back to her own time. I wonder if..."

"You know there wasn't anything like that." Mattie assured her. "Superheroes just have problems they can't really share with us normal people."

Sylvia sighed. "If she can't confide in her mother, who can she confide in?"

* * *

Supergirl hovered far above Leesburg, where she couldn't hear anything short of a large explosion below. The sky was a good place to get away from it all.

In truth she had been ready to date again when she came back to Leesburg after her battle with Lillith. The only reason she had hesitated when the alternate Superman confessed his feelings to her was that she knew she was going to die in Kara's place.

How could she explain to her parents that she was already married, or that they were grandparents? How could she tell them that they'd never see their granddaughter?

She had lived a fairy tale. No relationship in this world could ever be as simple or as pure as what she had lost.

Besides, the Spectre had yanked her from her fairy tale without even giving her time to say goodbye, let alone file for divorce. She was still married, and the last thing she would do would be to cheat on Superman.

"Penny for em?"

In a world full of superheroes even the sky wasn't as quiet as it seemed.

There he was. All six-foot four of red blooded American hero, wrapped in a flowing red cape. It was the first time she had seen him since coming back from the other world. For a second the differences in appearance between her husband and the man she had always thought of as a big brother threw her off.

"Clark. It's good to see you again."

"You too, Linda." She had almost forgotten the boyish smile this Superman had. Her husband could never have pulled off the same smile.

His smile faded as she pulled away from the hug he tried to give her. They always hugged when they met for reasons other than to fight supervillains.

"Is something wrong?"

'Nothing.' she thought. 'We just got married in another timeline and had a kid. But here we're just friends and you're already married to Lois and I'm afraid if I say anything it'll ruin the relationship we have right now.'

"Just lost in thought."

"Sometimes I fly into space to have room to think." Superman said sagely. "With my hearing the sky doesn't cut it. But we've got to come down to Earth sometime."

Supergirl looked down at her town. "Shall we return to Earth, then?"

* * *

Cutter Sharp paced nervously around the mayor's office.

"I swear, Mr. Sharp," the mayor said, "if you're playing me-"

"I'm not!" Cutter said. "I swear, this is the real deal."

"It had better be. If we endorse a fake Supergirl we can kiss both of our careers goodbye."

"No. She's definitely the real deal." Cutter assured him.

"I'll believe it when I see...it..."

The mayor's jaw dropped as two caped figures flew through his window and landed in front of his desk.

He had met Supergirl before when she was in her previous, more impressive form. But being in Superman's presence was something else entirely. His height and build were impressive, but that wasn't what made him seem larger than life. The way Superman carried himself, the aura he projected, was enough to make everyone around him sure that they were in the presence of a titan.

This titan extended his hand. "Thank you for agreeing to see us, Mr. Mayor. I know that with the president's anti-metahuman stance associating with superheroes can be a risky move politically."

The mayor took Superman's hand. "Yes...well...there are still some superheroes it isn't a risk to associate with."

The mayor massaged his hand after Superman let go. "Now, let's get down to business."

"Very well." Superman agreed.

The mayor pointed at Supergirl. "You say you're the same Supergirl from before."

"That's right." Supergirl said.

"Even though you look and sound completely different."

"Yes."

"If that's true, then prove it. Tell me something only the real Supergirl would know."

"How would that prove anything?" Supergirl asked. "We only met a couple of times, and Cutter was there each time."

"True enough." the mayor agreed. "So how would you explain your current appearance?"

"A result of the battle where I supposedly 'died.'"

"You'll forgive me for being skeptical." the mayor said dryly.

"I'm afraid all we can offer is our word." Superman said. "I knew Supergirl well. When I said she was 'like a beloved cousin to me' at her memorial service, I meant it. I would never, ever try to pass someone else off as her. I don't just believe that she is the same person who has been my friend for years. I know it."

Supergirl turned her head and rubbed a tear out of her eye. "Thank you." she whispered.

The mayor smiled. "I guess that's all I can ask for. Your word goes a long way, Superman." He turned to Supergirl.

"Welcome back to Leesburg, Supergirl."

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back." She stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Note to self." the mayor said, grimacing, "don't shake hands with superheroes again. Yeah. The Vulcan hand sign'll be much less painful."

But his good cheer returned quickly. "Now we're going to have to welcome you back in style?"

"Style?"

"A welcome back parade. The last one was a big success, and with Superman participating this time-"

Supergirl threw up her hands in an embarrassed gesture. "I don't think Superman can spare the time to-"

"I can make make the time." Superman said. "I don't normally do this sort of thing, but the transition would go more smoothly if I'm seen with you in public."

"But-" Supergirl began.

"Splendid!" the mayor exclaimed. "In two days we'll throw the biggest parade this town's ever seen!"

"I look forward to it." Superman turned to Cutter. "May I have a word, Mr. Sharp?"

"S-sure." Cutter said, taken aback. He followed Superman out of the door to the mayor's office.

"What was that about?" the mayor asked.

Supergirl shook her head but smiled slightly. "Just be glad you're not Cutter Sharp right now."

* * *

Superman walked Cutter to a broom closet. "This will give us a chance to speak privately."

"I'm grateful for the interview," Cutter said nervously as Superman closed the door, "but I'm not a reporter anymore."

"This isn't an interview." Superman folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Cutter.

"You heard what I said in the mayor's office."

"Y-yeah. She's like your cousin."

"And you are now in charge of her image."

"Well, yeah. I was before. It worked out then."

"And I want to keep it that way." Superman leaned forward slightly. "I don't want to hear about any funny business. Everything has to be on the up and up. Understand?"

"Y-yes, sir, S-superman, sir." Cutter stammered.

At that moment Supergirl opened the closet door.

"We'd better get going. Cutter needs time to change his underwear."

"Very well." Superman patted Cutter on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "Good luck, Mr. Sharp."

Cutter had to sit down and wipe the sweat from his forehead as he watched the caped figures walk away.

"So that's Superman."

* * *

"I'm flattered by the 'big brother' routine," Supergirl said to Superman, "but Cutter's a good guy. He'd have fit in at the Daily Planet if he hadn't given up journalism."

"I'm sure he is. But I think it doesn't hurt to remind him of the importance of his position."

Once outside they flew back into the sky.

"Look, Clark," Supergirl said, "you really don't have to do all this."

"Just think of it as me paying you back for all the times you saved my secret identity."

"You mean the time Mae pretended to be you so Superman could rescue Clark after Engine City?"

"That too." Superman said. "But also all the times you covered for me with Steel and Superboy. That really made things easier for me."

"Ok." At least those times she either got her fellow 'Team Superman' members off of his back or off the trail of his secret identity happened after she and Mae had merged.

"Is that what's bothering you, that you didn't get back together with Mae?"

"That might be part of it." At the very least she'd likely have been able to think through her choices better if she had the mind and inner strength of an angel.

"And the rest of it?"

"Look," she said, "I'm not ready to talk yet."

"I see." Superman sounded disappointed. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

There was a burst of wind as Superman disappeared, leaving Supergirl in the town where she was adored by the public, where her friends and family lived, and yet where she was utterly alone.

* * *

Practically the whole town came out for the parade. School let out early and most businesses were closed. The main street was full of cheering people.

It was true that the procession and the few floats were largely recycled from the previous parade Leesburg had thrown for Supergirl, with the main difference being that the word 'back' was added to the welcome signs. It was the best a small municipality could manage on two days notice.

But the citizens of Leesburg didn't care. Not only did they have their heroine back, but for a brief afternoon they were graced by Superman's presence as well.

Fred Danvers was one of the policemen marching at the front of the procession, a show of cooperation between the police force and Supergirl. His wife, Sylvia, stood in the crowd, pointing out their daughter to their baby, Wally. Mattie and Cutter had a better position to watch the parade, one provided by the mayor.

"It's hard to believe that's really our Linda up there," Mattie said as Supergirl and Superman passed by where they were sitting, "chilling with Superman."

Cutter took a sip of his soda. "It didn't really sink in that she was so close with Superman until he took me aside and warned me not to mess with her. That was scarier than the supervillain attacks I've lived through."

Mattie looked down at her own diet soda. "How is she supposed to have any time for us, then?"

"What do you mean?" Cutter asked.

"That's her world now." Mattie explained. "Flying, saving the planet, hanging out with Superman. What place do we have in that kind of life?"

"I manage her brand,so there's that."

"And where does that leave me?"

Cutter put his arm around his fiancee. "As long as Supergirl stays in Leesburg she'll make time for her old friends."

Mattie smiled as she took his hand. "When did you turn into such an optimist?"

"The day you said 'yes.'"

* * *

Crowds were cheering her. Her name was everywhere. A whole town was proclaiming its love for her.

Supergirl was in hell.

It was the third such parade she had had thrown in her honor. The first had also been in Leesburg. Then too she had pretended to smile and enjoy herself because of her inability at the time to find the missing angel Comet. The second was the only one she had actually enjoyed.

Then, too, she flew beside Superman, arm in arm with the man she would later marry. Now they were about twenty feet apart, but she could not help but be reminded about better days.

As the parade rounded a corner Superman moved closer so he could whisper to her.

"When I told Ma and Pa about this parade they wanted me to invite you to a picnic in Smallville. They say they haven't seen you in months."

"I don't know." Supergirl responded. If it was a picnic Clark would likely be there as well, and she didn't think she could stand an entire meal together. "Is it even appropriate? It was Mae they raised, not me."

"They asked me to invite Linda, not Mae."

There was a roar behind them. They turned to see two cars flying at the crowd.

'Thank god,' Supergirl thought as she caught one of the cars, 'someone trying to kill me. At least that I know how to deal with.'

Superman had caught the other car. Thankfully both were empty. But with the crowd assembled to watch the parade there was nowhere to set the vehicles down.

That distraction gave their attacker the chance he needed. A large mass of purple leapt into the air and grabbed Superman, who screamed in pain and dropped the car he had been holding.

Supergirl reacted quickly, catching the car with her telekinetic power before it could land on any bystanders below. She took one car in each hand at set them down on a nearby roof.

The crowd was panicking. Their screams filled the air as they fled in every direction with no care for the stragglers who were being knocked down and run over.

It was a disaster. A supervillain attack in front of the entire population of Leesburg. Not since Grodd's mass mind control during the Final Night had the town seen such chaos.

And the one responsible for it all was draining Superman's power.

Supergirl recognized the Parasite. She had fought him once in Paris. He would have killed her then, except her angelic powers were beyond his ability to safely absorb. Now she was just as vulnerable to him as anyone else.

Superman heard the cries of the crowd and mustered all of his strength. He flew out of Leesburg as fast as he still could and crashed himself and Parasite into the forest just outside of town.

'Good, Clark,' Supergirl thought as she flew after them, 'get him away from the people so we can really go at him.'

She flew over a long stretch of fallen trees before reaching them. Superman was breathing heavily and struggling to rise off of one knee, while the Parasite got up easily and laughed.

'Damn. He's already absorbed too much of Superman's strength.' she realized.

Parasite was too dangerous to fight hand to hand. But Supergirl had other tricks up her sleeve. She hit him with the most powerful telekinetic blast she could muster. Parasite yelped in pain and was blown back by the force of her attack.

He flew back so far that Supergirl lost sight of him in the trees. 'That was stupid.' she thought. 'I should have blasted him up and kept juggling him.'

She stepped farther into the forest to find him. With any luck he hadn't absorbed enough power to stay conscious after a fully powered telekinetic blast. Even Superman would be hurt by that.

Luck was not on her side.

She heard a loud crunching noise and turned to see a large tree trunk flying in her direction at extremely high speeds. It struck her in the torso so hard that she was knocked through several other trees before landing painfully in the dirt.

"Hehe. Too easy."

Supergirl had no chance to rise before the Parasite grabbed the back of her head. "Time to see how powerful this fake Supergirl really is."

She struggled, but every second she grew weaker and he grew stronger, in addition to the strength he had already taken from Superman. She screamed as her muscles began to lose mass, filling every part of her body with pain.

And then suddenly the Parasite was screaming in pain along with her. He dropped her and began flailing in all directions.

Supergirl was barely conscious, but she managed to turn her head to see what was happening to the Parasite. He eyes widened in shock.

The Parasite's arm was on fire, and it was spreading across the rest of his body, burning him alive.

"But...I...how?" she muttered. Fire should have only been more energy for the Parasite to absorb.

But this fire was killing him. He fell down next to her.

"Not...not fair" he complained softly. "Was told...you were...different..."

"No..." Supergirl tried to summon another telekinetic blast to smother the flames, but she didn't have the strength for even a weak burst of tk. There was nothing she could do to save the Parasite.

A pair of strong arms lifted her off of the ground. Superman had recovered enough of his strength to reenter the fight. She felt him draw in his breath, and then heard the extreme winds as he exhaled.

The resulting gale knocked over many more trees. As weak as she was, if she had still been on the ground the wind would have killed her. But it succeeded in blowing out the fire that was consuming the Parasite.

"Are you all right?" Superman asked.

"I'll live." she assured him.

Superman landed and examined the Parasite's body. "I thought I watched him die in Metropolis."

"Is he dead this time?"

"No. It was close though. Just what happened?" he asked.

When she had been an angel absorbing her powers had nearly killed the Parasite. But she had forever split with the angel part of herself. There was nothing divine left in her.

So what had happened to the Parasite this time?

"I have no idea."

* * *

Frank Thomas adjusted his tie before he stepped into his bosses office. His boss raised a finger to indicate that he should wait while he finished his phone call.

"Yes, your excellency. I will reconsider your request for greater military aid. I must go now. Good bye."

He hung up the phone and shook his head. "They win a revolution against an aging and weak dictator and they think they're god. What do you have to report?"

"The Parasite failed. Both Superman and Supergirl survived."

"The Supergirl imposter." his boss said angrily.

"Yes, sir. The imposter." Frank corrected himself.

"No matter." his boss turned his attention to a set of files on his desk.

"Sir, you aren't upset? You kept the Parasite secure for a special occasion since his last fight with Superman."

"I never intended for the Parasite to kill either of them. That was merely the opening salvo."

Frank's boss banged his hand on the desk. "The people of Leesburg have to learn the lesson most of the country has internalized with my help. Relying on the help of these so-called superheroes, especially children masquerading as Supergirl, will do them more harm than good."

He leaned forward, a vain twitching on his bald head. "They need to learn that they can only rely on real saviors like Lex Luthor!"

Frank nodded. "Yes sir, Mr. President."

* * *

N

 _Next Time: The return of Xenon_


	5. The Return of Xenon

"Who's a cute little baby? You are!"

Wally blew bubbles at Linda, which she took as a sign that he was happy with her.

"You're sure you'll be all right?" Sylvia asked.

"I'm fine, Mom." Linda assured her. "Besides, Wally here's not going to cause any problems, are you?"

"You'd be surprised what a mess he can make." Fred said jokingly.

"Good thing I have a lot of experience cleaning up big messes."

"You'll give us a call if anything is wrong." Sylvia insisted.

"Yes, yes." Linda said exasperatingly. "No go." She practically shoved her parents out the door. "And stop worrying about me. We'll be just fine."

Linda breathed a sigh of relief as she finally closed the door, freeing herself from her mother's persistent nagging. She could hardly blame her parents for being worried. When Superman had brought her home after the battle with the Parasite she had been little more than skin and bones, which of course had freaked them out.

She regained her weight rather quickly, all things considered. After being bed-ridden for two days she was starting to look like a human being again, if still somewhat pale and malnourished.

She set her brother down under his play gym. Wally immediate grabbed at the nearest of the figures floating above his head, causing it to swing slightly with a 'chang' noise.

Linda had not spent much time with Wally since he was born because being Supergirl and an art teacher took up so much of her time. She was using up her sick days while she recovered, claiming that she had the flu.

Linda had wondered what the connection was between her brother and the boy she used to know who called himself god. But watching the newborn now she was certain that the only connection was their name.

This child was normal, unburdened by fantastic powers or greater knowledge than he should have had.

The other Wally had claimed that his grandfather was just someone he had created so as not to draw attention to himself. Linda and her parents were very much real and would not pop out of existence if their Wally just decided to leave one day.

Though she still hadn't told her parents, Linda had experience raising a child, and Ariella, sweet as she was, was more difficult just by virtue of having inherited Kryptonian strength and speed. The damage she could cause with a single temper tantrum had been terrifying at the time, but was more amusing in hindsight.

God, she missed her little girl.

Wally eventually fell asleep under the play gym, at which point Linda took him to his crib. She set the musical mobile above the crib to play a soothing lullaby.

Linda went downstairs to prepare Wally's baby formula for when he woke up.

She sat down on the couch and turned on the television. The attack on the parade was still the main news item despite it having taken place three days earlier.

Cutter was being interviewed on the local station about 'the incident,' as they were calling it.

"People are very concerned." the reporter was saying. "The potential loss of life would have been catastrophic."

"But there wasn't any loss of life." Cutter explained. "And the only people hurt were a few people who got trampled during the panic."

"But still this has led many to speculate that Supergirl is not up to the task of protecting Leesburg anymore."

"This argument I really don't get." Cutter said. "Supergirl's been involved in many fights before where there was a lot more collateral damage. She told me she was shocked how little people cared about all the property damage her fights had caused. Why is it only this time that people get so worked up?"

"That is true. Supergirl's fight with Despero alone caused three times the number of injuries and hundreds of times as much property damage. But the question remains, three days after the incident, where is Supergirl?"

Linda turned off the television. The Parasite's attack was turning into the worst PR disaster she had had since her tussle with Steel over the limits of free speech.

No one could question that she and Superman had saved many lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the amount of people who had gathered at the parade was far greater than the usual crowd that gathered around her fights. Most people never saw what an actual battle with a supervillain was like. It was hardly surprising that the public was more frightened after this attack than it had been after previous ones.

And the reporter was right about one thing. Supergirl's lack of presence in the skies above Lessburg these past few days did not inspire confidence in anyone.

The sooner Supergirl returned to action, the better.

Linda got up and considered the couch she had been sitting on. Having gained most of her weight back, she should have gotten back just as much of her powers. At a mere three hundred and fifty pounds, the couch should have been an easy warm-up.

She bent down and placed her hands under the couch Slowly she began to lift it up.

Sweat dripped down her brow and she grunted from the effort. It was much harder than it should have been.

"Ugh...three days ago...I held two cars...ugh...at once..."

Linda finally succeeded in lifting the couch over her head.

" **Arghhh!"**

Her back gave out and she tumbled forward, the couch landing on top of her.

"God...ow...god..."

The pain in her lower back was excruciating, and with the couch on top of her she couldn't move.

"Ugh...so stupid..."

If her parents came home and found her trapped under their couch she'd never hear the end of it.

"Ok. So strength is out." she said to herself. "Let's see how telekinesis works."

Linda concentrated and summoned her telekinetic power. Her head immediately began to throb, but one side of the couch rose up about six inches.

It was just enough for her to role out from under the couch.

Linda let the couch down. She was spread-eagled on the floor, panting.

'It's not fair.' she thought. 'The right amount of sunlight an Superman is back at full strength. Days of recovery and I can't even lift twice my own body weight.'

If it was just a pulled muscle she could maybe take care of her back. Some ice, maybe some massaging, and she'd at least be able to hide it from her parents. All she needed was some time.

"Whaaaaaaa!"

Linda almost laughed at her bad luck. Wally had picked the perfect moment to wake up and decide that he was hungry.

* * *

Ariella was hungry. And the mean nanny robot her daddy had built to watch her when he was out saving the world wouldn't let her go get snacks. Her mommy and daddy wouldn't have let her eat sweets when dinner was only an hour away either, but they were nicer about it.

The little girl needed a special kind of babysitter when her daddy wasn't around. No human could ever hope to keep up with her.

Before that would have been her mommy's job. But her mommy had left the day the sky had turned red and never came back. She promised Ariella that she'd come back to her, but she never did. Ariella could not understand why she hadn't, and her daddy couldn't explain it very well since he didn't know himself.

"Want to play hide and seek?"

"Very well, Miss Ariella." the nanny-bot said. "But I will only count to three."

Ariella giggled. The nanny-bot was learning her tricks. But it still didn't realize how fast she was. Three seconds was more than enough time to super speed over to the kitchen and start munching on a bunch of sweets.

There was nowhere to store cookies and candy that was out of the reach of a child who could fly. The nanny robot would scold her when it found her with a box of cookies, but it wasn't capable of of actually being angry at her.

After she had found what she was looking for Ariella did go to hide in her daddy's trophy room. It had all kinds of neat stuff like statues and weapons from a whole bunch of different planets. Other planets fascinated her, but most of the time her daddy would leave earth she and her mommy would stay behind.

Ariella sat inside a model of a Kryptonian rocket ship, munching on the cookies she had swiped from the kitchen. Her daddy had said that he had come to earth as a baby in the same kind of rocket-ship. She wondered what it was like to travel in a ship that had so little room. It must have been very uncomfortable.

It took the nanny-bot a really long time to find her, long enough that she had finished the whole box of cookies. Ariella was beginning to wonder where the robot was when she finally heard its voice.

"Miss Ariella!"

Ariella had never heard the nanny-bot speak so loudly before. Then she heard other loud noises. She peeked her head just a little out of the model rocket ship.

The nanny-bot's head landed just a few feet away. Sparks were coming out of its neck.

"Miss...Ariella..." the nanny-bot said as its power faded, "run..."

Ariella's eyes followed the trail of broken machinery to the feet of a big man. Even sitting in the rocker, she had to look way up to seen the big man's face.

He wore a suit of gold armor and a red cape. His hair was long and white, his skin was gray and scaly, and his eyes glowed red.

"Is it scared?" he asked no one. "It should be."

* * *

It was another two days before Linda was back at school. She had had to tell her mother that she risked losing her job if she didn't get back to work.

Linda taught art at Leesburg High. She mostly concentrated on her speciality, which was sculpting. However, she had not been able to provide lesson plans for each class she taught, and while she was out the substitute teacher had the students work on drawings. Drawing was an important first step in sculpting, because sculptors often needed to sketch their designs before moving on to the molding process.

But the substitute had not specified that the drawings be for that purpose,and consequently they were not the first step in crafting a new batch of sculptures, but were instead assignments for Linda to grade.

Still, busywork was good. It gave her something to focus on other than the slow speed at which her powers were returning, the public's declining opinion of Supergirl, and her persistent back pain.

And because drawings took up less space than sculptures, she was using the teacher's lounge to grade them for the first time.

The other teachers mostly ignored Linda as they came in and out of the lounge, which was fine by her. The sooner she finished grading these assignments the sooner her classes could resume their normal lesson plans.

"Looks like I win twenty bucks."

"Huh?" Linda looked up from her papers.

A young man in his mid-twenties stood on the other side of the table from her, sipping a cup of coffee. He had brown hair and eyes and was of medium height and build.

"Some of the staff thought you were faking, especially since it's not flu season."

"And they had a bet on whether or not I was really sick?"

"I was the only one to put money on you actually having the flu. You've definitely got the look of someone who's just getting over something nasty."

"Thanks, I guess."

He reached over the table to shake her hand. "Tony Abrams. Chemistry teacher."

Linda leaned over the table to take his hand. "Linda Da-arg!"

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." Linda said, rubbing her lower back. "I kind of blew out my back the other day. It still hurts when I bend over."

"What, did you decide to do some heavy lifting while sick?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Ha ha." Linda said sarcastically.

"Sorry. D'you want me to get you an ice pack?"

"Definitely."

"I'll be right back."

Linda rubbed her chin thoughtfully as Tony ran out of the lounge for the nurse's office. It shouldn't have surprised her so much that the school had hired other new teachers since she was a student there. But she never had a teacher who was so young.

Tony came back after a few minutes with the ice pack. Linda gratefully took it and placed it between her back and her chair.

"Ahh." she sighed. "Thanks."

"No problem. Coffee?"

"Some caffeine would be good."

Tony poured Linda a cup and sat down across from her. "It's my first year too."

Linda blew on her coffee before taking a sip. She wasn't sure how much of her invulnerability had come back yet and wasn't about to risk burning her tongue. "So what brings a city boy to Leesburg?"

"I didn't realize my accent was that recognizable."

"The president is from Metropolis." Linda explained. "Practically everyone knows what that accent sounds like."

"Some of the other teachers are still surprised when I tell them."

"The same teachers that thought I was faking being sick?"

"You can hardly blame them." Tony said. "You don't talk to anyone. You show up for class, teach, and leave. And I'm told pretending to be sick was a trick you were very fond of using just a few years ago."

"I did have a pretty wild senior year."

"I'll bet." Tony smiled. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, actually. It's a little intimidating, being closer in age to the students than to most of my fellow teachers."

"Imagine if those same teachers also used to give you detention and write nasty notes to your parents."

Tony raised his cup of coffee. "I don't think I'd have been brave enough to take on the position."

* * *

Linda walked home from school. Normally she'd have flown, but in her weakened state it wasn't a smart option.

When she had still been an earth-born angel she had the power to heal herself instantaneously. That was the one non-angelic power that had not been restored when Twilight brought her back to full power. Now she had to wait for a full recovery like most other people.

At least she didn't feel any of the bags she was carrying. That suggested that her strength was farther along than it had been two days earlier. But she still did not feel like repeating the disaster that was her first attempt at flight after being split from Matrix.

There was a cold breeze, and Linda shivered. It was not the right season for such a cold wind, so she turned around.

Behind her was the Fatalist, the being who had brought Kara out of her proper time and set in motion the events that led to Linda having to abandon one family for another no matter what she chose.

"Leave me alone." she spat.

"You must come with me." the Fatalist said simply.

"Why? So you can play your stupid games with my life again? No. No way."

The Fatalist was unperturbed by her anger. "It is quite important that you come."

Linda grabbed the front of his shirt. **"Would you stop with your vague warnings and just tell me what the hell you want!"** she screamed.

The Fatalist smiled his creepy smile, as if he found the entire situation amusing.

"It's Xenon. He has Ariella."

* * *

Superman was not used to feeling so helpless.

He and the entirety of his world's Justice League were gathered just a few hundred yards outside of his fortress in Antarctica, and yet for all the power they had between them there was nothing they could do.

"Any luck on that plan yet?" he asked Batman.

"I need more time to understand the nature of the force field."

"It is magical in nature." Doctor Fate confirmed. "But its true origin is beyond my knowledge."

"This is beyond all of our knowledge."

The league had never faced a foe like this before. For all the villains they had fought, from Luthor to the Joker, none had possessed the pure evil of this Xenon. Superman was furious at himself for not being able to protect his daughter, but he had never imagined that the fortress could be so easily breached, or that anyone could so easily kidnap a child of Ariella's power. Very few of his foes would even consider such a move, and those that would would not go so far as to harm her.

Xenon's evil was alien to there world.

Just like Linda.

There was a burst of light behind them, causing the whole league to turn around. Superman's eyes widened.

There she was. She lacked the blonde wig and the costume, but there was no mistaking his wife.

"Linda!"

Superman rushed over to her and hugged her tightly.

"G-good to see y-you, t-too." she said painfully, as if it was hard for her to breathe.

Superman let her go. Her knees wobbled as she struggled to remain standing. She held her side. It was then that Superman realized how pale she was and that she had lost weight.

"Are you all right?"

"Never mind that." she insisted. "What's the situation?"

"Is that really Supergirl?" Robin asked Batman. Though this Justice League did not believe in keeping their identities secret from each other, few of them had seen her either without her wig or in civilian clothing before.

But Linda had no patience for explanations now. "What happened to Ariella?"

"A being calling himself Xenon has your daughter captive inside the fortress." Doctor Fate explained. "He has put a force field around the structure which we cannot penetrate and is demanding that you, Linda Danvers, come to him, or else he will kill the child."

"So he wants Linda and not Supergirl." she observed grimly. "He'll get what he wants."

"No." Superman grabbed her arm gently this time so as not to risk hurting her again. "You're not well. You're powers are clearly depleted. You can't face that monster alone."

Linda pulled her arm away. "I'm the only one who knows what kind of monster he is." she said angrily. "I'm the only one who can face him."

Superman was shocked by the rage in her voice and in her eyes. This was a side of his wife he had never seen. Had the rage always been there, he wondered, or did something change since the last time he saw her?

Linda handed the bags she had been carrying to Robin. "Hold onto these. I don't think the school will accept the 'an evil alien blew up my homework' excuse." There was no emotion in her joke.

Linda took a breath and began to float a few feet off the ground. "At least that's back." she said softly.

"Linda..." Superman asked. She looked at him sadly. "Good luck." he said. She nodded and began to fly slowly towards the fortress.

* * *

When she was thirty yards away from the league Linda began to feel the cold of the antarctic. Doctor Fate must have cast a spell to keep them warm. Otherwise people without proper pants like Robin would have caught hypothermia.

She shivered as she approached the fortress. She was dressed for September weather in Virginia, not the south pole.

Her surviving Superman's over-enthusiastic hug proved that she was somewhat invulnerable again, though nowhere near the levels she normally was at. It seemed that all of her powers were operating at between one quarter and one third their usual levels. But her invulnerability was mostly kinetic. Though she wasn't anywhere near as vulnerable to fire as Conner was, she still felt changes in temperature even with her powers at their maximum. She could last longer than normal people in the cold, but the longer she remained outside the weaker she'd become.

By now Superman and the league must have noticed that the cold was affecting her. But if was already past Xenon's force field there would be nothing they could do to help.

And between the effects the extreme cold were having on her, her back pain, and now the pain in her side, she wouldn't have been in any shape for a fight even if she was at her full power.

She gritted her teeth. None of that mattered. Her daughter's life was at stake.

As she passed the giant key that usually sealed her former home the entrance to the fortress opened by itself. She flew in.

Linda collapsed as she landed, shivering uncontrollably and breathing heavily. Her body wouldn't obey her commands to move.

" **Is it the one we seek?"** a voice boomed through the halls of the fortress. **"It must be, for it passed through our barrier."**

"Xenon." she whispered, forcing herself up. She leaned against the nearest wall. The fortress was kept at room temperature, so the cold was no longer sapping her strength.

" **It is so weak. How did a creature so pathetic come to the attention of beings such as we?"**

"Oh, shut up." Linda once again had no idea what Xenon was talking about, but his continued use the 'royal we' was getting on her nerves. She continued along the wall.

" **It wishes** **to be defiant. But we can sense its fear. It knows death awaits it."**

"Are you planning to talk me to death!" she screamed. "Where the hell are you!?"

" **Ah. It wishes to face its fate. Very well. Let it come to the trophy room."**

After several more minutes of walking while leaning on the wall, Linda eventually found the strength to stand on her own two feet.

She knew that she'd have to face Xenon again, but she never imagined that it would happen so soon, or that he would use her daughter to get to her. 'How did he find out about Ariella?' she wondered.

At last she reached the trophy room. Xenon stood in the center. A small form lay at his feet.

"Ariella!"

Linda ran forward, but Xenon extended his arm and an invisible force knocked her down.

"Mommy?" she heard Ariella ask softly. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, Ari." Linda assured her. "I'm here."

'I'm scared, mommy."

"I know. But everything's going to be fine. Mommy's not going to let anything happen to you."

" **Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"** Xenon roared with laughter. "And how do you plan to keep that promise?"

"Let her go." Linda begged him. "I'm the one you want."

Xenon laughed again, and Linda saw how he was keeping Ariella captive. In his left hand was a small piece of glowing green rock. Linda felt her blood boil. This evil thing dared to use kryptonite on a child?

Linda focused all of her hatred on Xenon. She could not let him live after everything he'd done. The same power that destroyed him before would put him out of her misery forever now.

"I never wanted you." Xenon said.

"What?" Linda said in shock. She had concentrated so hard on summoning the power that felled Xenon the last time they fought that she hadn't heard him. But for all her concentration, nothing happened. Xenon still stood.

"I am merely here to deliver a message." Xenon explained.

Linda grew more frantic. She had no idea if her sudden inability to use her most powerful ability had anything to do with her power loss from battling the Parasite or not, but without it she was as helpless as Ariella.

Ariella...

"You are responsible for the destruction of Lilith, whom Beelzebub loved above all else."

"Oh my god." Linda placed a hand over her mouth. He was going to...to...

"So Beelzebub wants you to watch as that which you love above all else dies."

"Ari," she whispered through her hand, praying that her daughter's super hearing was still working, "honey, do you remember what you're not supposed to do to your birthday candles? When I say to, do it to the bad man."

"Now that you know who is responsible, it is time to end this." He raised his hand above Ariella.

" **Wait!"** Linda yelled, throwing her arm forward.

The kryptonite flew out of Xenon's hand, causing him to pause. "What the?"

Linda used her telekinesis to throw the kryptonite into the model rocket-ship and closed the cockpit hatch. The alien materials of the ship were designed to block all forms of radiation.

"Now!" she yelled.

Ariella rolled over and drew in a deep breath. When she exhaled Xenon was blown through the ceiling, just as Kara had done to him the last time.

"Ariella!" Linda ran over to her daughter. "Oh, my poor baby. Are you all right?"

Ariella started to cry. "Mommy. Where did you go?"

"I-"

" **Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!"**

Linda looked up at the hole in the ceiling. Xenon was not happy.

"Listen, Ari, Mommy has to go stop the bad man. But I'm coming back."

"But you didn't come back." Ariella replied.

Linda gave her daughter a sad look before flying through the hole in the ceiling to the floor above. Xenon had been blown through a wall on this floor as well.

He was coming through the hole in the wall, rage on his face. But that was nothing compared to the rage she felt.

" **HOW DARE YOU!"** she roared, charging into him as fast as she could. She may not have been at full power, but the adrenaline boost gave her an extra edge.

" **YOU COME HERE!"** She punched Xenon as hard as she could, again and again. He was forced back through the hole in the wall. **"YOU THREATEN MY DAUGHTER!"** Xenon's back struck the next wall, which cracked under the pressure. **"MY FAMILY!"**

That wall broke as well.

" **NO MORE!"**

"Heh."

Xenon caught her next punch in his palm. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted.

Linda grunted in pain as he began to squeeze her fist. "I'm disappointed."

Linda was forced to her knees as Xenon increased the pressure on her hand. If he squeezed any harder he's start braking her bones.

'So strength is out.' she thought. 'Let's see how telekinesis works.'

Her blast knocked Xenon much farther back than her punches had. She followed up with another one that blew him not only through the ceiling, but out of the fortress altogether.

Linda flew after him. Her strategy was clear. Don't get close, but keep him away with telekinetic blasts.

She hit him with a fourth blast, which sent him flying into the snowy ground. Making sure to not get closer than ten yards, she knocked him farther back with yet another blast.

"Enough."

Xenon raised his arm at her again, and this time he fired an energy blast at her. It struck her head on, and she fell back into the snow.

Linda began to shiver again. She was back in the cold which sapped her strength.

Xenon came over to her and picked her up by her hair. "You provide an annoying shove, but nothing more."

He punched her once in the gut, causing her to cough up blood. Xenon dropped her on the ground, where she assumed the fetal position and clutched her stomach.

"I can't imagine how someone as weak as you ever managed to defeat the likes of Lilith and the Carnivore."

"I...had help..."

A shadow appeared behind Xenon. "Get away from my wife."

Before Xenon could turn around he was struck in the back of the head by a punch that knocked his helmet off. He stumbled forward, shouting out in pain.

When Xenon turned around Superman and the Justice League stood in front of him. Linda may not have been able to hurt him, but she knocked him far enough that they were outside of the force field, where the other heroes could jump in.

"I felt that." Xenon said in shock. "That actually hurt. No one has ever hurt me before."

"It won't be the last time." Linda said as she arose, once again protected by Doctor Fate's spell.

To her surprise, Xenon smiled. "Well played, Linda Danvers. And you," he pointed at Superman, "I won't forget what you did to me. I won't forget that symbol you wear."

With those words, Xenon began to fade away. "It will see me again, when no one else is around to protect it." he assured them just before he left their dimension completely.

* * *

Ariella was asleep when they found her.

"She's going to need to see a doctor." Linda said as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"It's a good thing some members of the league are doctors." Superman replied. Linda kissed Ariella's forehead before he flew off to put their little girl to bed. Linda felt a sudden chill, and she knew that the Fatalist was behind her.

"What about you?" Superman asked when he came back. "You could use a doctor yourself."

"I can't stay."

"Why? We're your family."

"I was never supposed to be here." Linda sobbed. "I was never supposed to come here and find happiness. It was all a big cosmic accident."

Linda wanted to be strong, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I ever came."

"Linda-"

"You could have found someone you really could have shared the rest of your life with if it wasn't for me."

"Stop it." Superman insisted. He pulled her close and hugged her gently.

"I wouldn't have traded the years we had together for a lifetime with anyone else."

He looked her in the eye. "You made me happy. You gave me a wonderful daughter. Are you sorry she was born?"

"No." Linda admitted. "I could never regret that. I'm only sorry that I can't be a mother to her."

"I wish things could be different." Superman continued. "But if we can't be together, I want you to be happy. Can you do that, for me?"

"I don't know." Linda said.

Superman disappeared and reappeared within a second, holding her bags. "Here. Robin still had your 'homework.'"

"Thanks." Linda took the bags and turned towards the Fatalist.

"And Linda?" Superman called after her. "I want you to remember something."

"What?" She was already starting to fade away.

"We'll always have Paris."

Linda landed in the same spot where the Fatalist had picked her up. She looked around. The Fatalist was gone.

This time really was the last time she would see her husband and daughter. He would never hold her again. She would never again hold Ariella.

And yet, the emptiness wasn't as all consuming.

'We'll always have Paris.'

Linda dropped her bags and fell to her knees as she again cried uncontrollably. But this time, her tears of sadness were mixed with just a few tears of joy.

* * *

A figure in green stood on the edge of a cliff in a nameless limbo beyond the mortal plain.

"Planning to jump, Spectre?"

"Fatalist." the Spectre said, not turning around. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you that, seeing as I just did your job for you."

"You brought Linda Danvers to face Xenon again."

"You were supposed to be the one to do that. But instead you stayed here and brooded."

"I did not wish to go."

"You did not wish?" Fatalist laughed. "The right hand of God disobeys a direct order because he doesn't _want_ to follow it? That's rich."

The Spectre ignored him, so he continued. "What is it about this Supergirl that bothers you so much?"

"I did not have to reveal to them Kara Zor-El's true fate when I told them she must go back." the Spectre explained. "I did not have to wait until Linda Danvers started a family before sending her to fight Xenon the first time. I was instructed to do both."

"Is that why you pleaded to have that world remain after she left it? To assuage your guilt for your part in all of this?"

Again the Spectre ignored him.

The Fatalist leaned in close so he could whisper in the Spectre's ear. "And will you disobey the next time you are instructed to mess with her as well?"

"Until I know what the Presence has planned for Linda Danvers," the Spectre said firmly, "I will take no ore part in the manipulation of her life."

* * *

 _Next Time: Werewolves in Leesburg_


	6. Werewolf of Leesburg

_AN-Sorry for the wait. While I was halfway through the whole document turned into nothing but pages of #####, so I had to restart from scratch._

* * *

The car was a blur to onlookers as it sped through the city streets at several times the legal speed limit. The police cars in pursuit were barely able to keep up.

Two police cars parked haphazardly down the road in a makeshift blockade. Four officers stood behind the vehicles with their guns drawn. Two of them were Fred Danvers and his partner Shauna Harwood.

"My god." Shauna said as the car hurtled towards them. "He's not slowing down."

"Move!" Fred yelled at the other officers. They leapt to the side and threw themselves down on the sidewalk. Fred covered Shuana so that she would not be hit by shrapnel from the crash.

The sound of metal smashing into metal at high speeds never came. Fred stopped, confused.

"Look! Up in the sky!"

Farther down the sidewalk, a little girl, no older than ten, was pointing above them. Fred looked up and smiled.

Supergirl floated high above the street, the car that had presented a danger to the public held over her head. Her blonde hair and red cape billowed in the wind.

"Please turn your engine off." she told the driver.

"Demon."

"What?" Supergirl asked.

"Demon!" the driver yelled. "Wanted to...said...feel better..."

"Okaaay." Supergirl said. "You still haven't turned off your engine."

"Not gonna...get me."

"That's it." Supergirl put the car back on the ground so she could see into the driver's seat. She continued to hold the car with one hand so it could not accelerate again.

Supergirl extended her hand towards the ignition. The key turned and flew into her hand, turning the car off.

"That's better." she said. "Now please step out of the vehicle."

"Not demon!" the driver yelled, pulling out a handgun and pointing it has his head.

"Whoa!" Supergirl quickly let loose a telekinetic blast, knocking the gun out of his hand and out of the passenger window.

The four police officers seized the driver. As the other two read him his rights Fred picked up the gun and went over to Supergirl.

"Thanks for the assist. It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

Fred leaned close so he could whisper. "Does this mean you're back to full strength?"

"Close enough."

Shauna came up behind Fred. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Oh, n-nothing." Fred stammered. "I was just telling Supergirl this was my first car chase."

"There aren't as many around here as there were in Metropolis." Supergirl agreed.

"I wonder what this guy's deal is." Fred said.

"I think he's on drugs." Supergirl responded. He was rambling and not making any sense."

In a nearby alley, something hidden in the shadows watched them and growled.

Supergirl was distracted from the conversation and turned her head toward the alleyway.

"Is something wrong, Supergirl?" Shauna asked.

"I thought I heard..." She turned back to face them. "Never mind. It must've been my imagination."

Fred looked at the alleyway himself, but Shauna was still focused on Supergirl. "Thanks again." she said, extending her hand. "It's nice to finally meet 'Fred's other partner.'

"Other partner?" Supergirl asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you that if we kept running into each other people would start talking." Fred smirked.

"Fair enough." Supergirl started rising into the air. "Stay safe, officers."

"You too, Supergirl." Fred replied.

There was some applause from the nearby bystanders as Supergirl began to fly away. She stopped to wave for a second before flying out of sight.

As she thought, simply making an appearance would help her public image.

She stopped off at home to pick up a knapsack and resumed her flight out of town. Once she had left Leesburg's airspace Supergirl accelerated to just under mach 1,the fastest she could fly without upsetting the people below by creating a sonic boom. It took about two hours for her to reach her destination at that speed.

She had arranged this trip at the last minute, when she had finally felt truly healthy again. The battle against Xenon had lengthened her recovery process by a few days.

Supergirl stopped at the train station and changed into the civilian clothes she carried in her knapsack. She stood in the station's entrance.

She was early, and the wait for her hosts to pick her up made her nervous.

Fortunately they also arrived early, so her wait was not long.

"Linda! Over here!"

She looked in the direction of the call and saw a middle aged couple headed towards her. A feeling of warmth and recognition overwhelmed her and she had to fight the urge to lift them both up as she hugged them.

"Ma! Pa!"

* * *

"What've we got?" Fred asked.

"Pete Lechter." the other officer replied. "Car thief and junkie."

"What drugs?"

"Usually light stuff. Pot. Pain killers. We found several empty bottles in the car."

"Anything that would explain why he tried to kill himself?"

"The same reasons anyone tries that, I guess."

Fred sighed and sat down. "I guess."

"What's the matter?"

"It's the way he keeps on babbling about demons." Fred explained. "That doesn't sound like someone whose taken too many pain killers."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. The guy's not going anywhere."

"You're right." Fred said. "Maybe all the craziness in this town is making me paranoid."

* * *

Martha Kent handed Linda a cup of coffee and sat down next to her at the kitchen table.

"Where's Clark." Linda asked.

"He said he was busy today." Martha said.

'That explains why we're not going for a picnic.' Linda thought. 'But is Clark really busy or is he just trying to give me more privacy?'

"Clark keeps in touch." Jonathan said. "Frankly, young lady, I'm very disappointed that you haven't done the same. We haven't had so much of a phone call since you split from Mae."

"I know." Linda said defensively. "I was about to visit before the Imperiex thing happened...but then the Imperiex thing happened."

"That was quite a while ago." Martha said. "I know you've been busy, but to not even call for all this time."

Linda put her coffee down. "I was scared. I'm no longer the same girl you raised."

Jonathan shook his head and Martha looked disappointed. "I thought you knew us better than that. We care about you just as much as Mae."

"I know that." Linda started to cry. "You two are the kindest, most understanding people I've ever met. I-I was scared..."

"Scared of what?" Jonathan asked.

Linda looked up. "I was scared that if I saw you...I-I wouldn't be able to call you...Ma and Pa..."

The Kents looked shocked for a second, then both moved to hug her.

"You poor dear." Martha said.

"It's terrifying, remembering what you're supposed to feel, but not knowing if you are still capable of feeling it. That's why I wanted to meet you at the train station. It would've been easier to run from there."

Jonathan smiled at her. "Judging from your reaction I take it we still count as 'Ma and Pa.'

Linda wiped her eyes. "Oh, yes."

"So what made you decide to get back in touch now?" Martha asked.

Linda paused. "That's a long story."

* * *

Fred began to put away his things.

"Leavin' already?" the other cop asked.

"My shift's over. Demon-drug-boy is somebody else's problem now."

"Lucky stiff."

 **BAM!**

"Gunshot!" someone yelled.

Immediately all of the officers ran in the direction of the sound, the holding cells.

There were further sounds of screaming and struggle as Fred approached whatever it was that was happening, his gun drawn.

"That sounded like a wrecking ball!"

Fred passed several policemen fleeing the holding cells. "Wait!" he called after them.

He knew these cops. Some of them had been deployed with him to take on the Imperiex probe that had tried to pass through Leesburg. They had stood there ground then.

When he finally reached the cell under attack, Fred understood their fear.

The outside wall of the cell had been demolished. Standing in the center as an eight-foot tall mass of dark blue fur. It held Pete Lechter in one hand. His throat had been ripped out.

Fred stared in shock at the ghastly sight. The creature raised its wolf-like head at him and growled, showing off blood-stained teeth.

Shaking, he raised his gun, but before he could get the word 'freeze' out of the lump in his throat, the creature turned and left through the hole in the wall.

* * *

There did not exist on earth two people it was easier to talk about difficult subjects to than Jonathan and Martha Kent. They had been the first people Linda had told about her merging with Mae, even before the Danvers or Clark.

That did not mean that she had to tell them everything. She still left out the fact that her husband in the other timeline was an alternate version of their son.

The Kents did not interrupt her. They must have had a thousand questions, but they knew Linda had to get this off her chest. Even after she was finished they were silent for a few seconds.

Martha had held her hand in front of her mouth for most of Linda's story. "My word," she said as she put her hand down, "no wonder Clark thought you've been depressed recently."

"I have been." Linda admitted.

"That was a very brave thing you did, taking that girl's place." Jonathan said. "It's what Mae would've done."

"Thanks."

"But I still don't see how that relates to your finally visiting us." Martha said.

Linda took another deep breath. "This whole time I've been depressed over the family I lost, I haven't been paying enough attention to the family I have here. I wasn't able to move on. But something happened a few days ago-it was like a received permission to move on.

Linda picked up her napkin and wiped her eyes, but she was smiling. "I lived a fairy tale. I'll always miss it, and I don't think I'll ever get over it. But that part of my life is over. I know that the people I left behind are doing all right. I know that they treasure their time with me as much as I treasure my time with them. What happened, it's like I received permission to be _happy._ And I guess I've realized that I can also treasure those people who love me here as well as on that world. Am I making any sense?"

"I think so." Jonathan said. The three of them hugged again.

 _Ring Ring_

Linda shook her head. "The old Danvers timing." She took out her cell phone.

"Hello? Dad? No, I'm out of town...what happened...WHAT...my god...yeah...I'll be there in ten minutes."

"What's going on?" Martha asked. "Is everything all right?"

"There's been an attack at the Leesburg police station." Linda said as she pulled her blouse over her head, revealing her white Supergirl t-shirt. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go."

"Don't worry about it." Jonathan said. "You do what you need to do."

Linda kissed them both on the cheek. "Mmwaa, bye."

"Next time we'll have Clark and Conner over as well." Martha said as Linda left through the window.

"Conner?"

Linda almost stopped to ask how the Kents knew Superboy, but she had no time. Her father had sounded to urgent. She flew away from the farm, and this time accelerated to several times the speed of sound. Maybe people below would be disturbed by the sonic boom, but she couldn't help it this time.

As she had said, in ten minutes she was at the Leesburg police station. Fred and other officers were busy hustling about inside.

"Supergirl!" Fred called out when he saw her.

"Officer Danvers." Supergirl acknowledged him. "What happened here?"

"Come see for yourself." he led her to the holding cells.

They passed other policemen on the way, not all of whom were happy to see her.

"He, Supergirl! Where were you?" one officer yelled out.

"Ignore him." Fred said. "We know you can't be everywhere at once."

"It's a shame I can't shunt anymore."

"It happened so fast I still don't know if you could have gotten here in time." Fred assured her. "Here we are."

"My god." Supergirl said as she surveyed the wreckage and the pulverized wall. "What did this?"

"A blue werewolf."

"A werewolf?"

"You've already fought vampires, so this should be par for the course."

"God, I hope this is nothing like the vampire I faced."

"What's weird is that the monster only seemed interested in our demon-drug boy."

Supergirl froze. "What did you say?"

"I said that the monster was only interested in the driver you caught this morning. It killed him and left."

"No." Supergirl said. "You called him something."

"What?" Fred asked. "Demon-drug boy?"

Supergirl rubbed her forehead. "Oh...fudge..."

* * *

 _Next time: Wedding Bells_


End file.
